He had been asked to attend Westminster on 7 June on the back of a BBC investigation into Sports Direct's warehouse working practices.

He had until last night to respond to a letter from Mr Wright.

In his response, on 10 March, Mr Ashley asked the committee to come to the Sports Direct premises.

Flak at St James

Mr Ashley has also taken heavy flak in his time at St James' Park, not from MPs, but from fans. But said he had intentionally handed control of the club over to managing director Lee Charnley and Football Board members Bob Moncur and Graham Carr.

Ex-head coach Steve McClaren had been the fourth member of the board before he was sacked earlier this month.

Mr Ashley said in the interview: “I have virtually nil affect on Newcastle United, in reality, because I only pick the board."

He added: “To get a football club to be the best it can be, you have to get the sun, the moons and the stars to align perfectly.

“But there is negativity around me as an individual when it comes to Newcastle, so the best thing was to make sure it was on solid ground and then step back and get them to self manage Newcastle.

“Create a board, get the board to appoint the manager, put the manager on the board as well and then not interfere.

“I don’t know what players they sign, I don’t know what team they are going to pick on a Saturday.

“All I say is, there is a bank account, when you have emptied it, it’s empty, don’t come crying to me for more money.

“That have had a proper go at it this season, I think everyone can agree with that, but the results haven’t been ideal.”

Asked by the Mirror how much was in the bank account, he said: “Virtually, nothing now. They have emptied it.”

Mr Ashley also indicated he had no interest in increasing his stake in Rangers.

“I don’t really want to have any influence in football to be honest. Looking after Sports Direct is more than a full time job," he said.